


the spark within

by triggeringthehealing (froggydarren)



Series: FullmoonFiclet Entries [80]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Future Fic, Gen, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Post-Canon, Spark Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2018-11-22 13:49:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11381481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froggydarren/pseuds/triggeringthehealing
Summary: Stiles is more than just a spark, but when he starts learning magic, it feels like there's something stopping him. He has magic in him, but despite the guidance from two experienced Druids, it still feels like it's failing to wake up. He's magic, but the spark that he needs is out of reach.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the [Full Moon Ficlet](http://fullmoon-ficlet.livejournal.com/498821.html) challenge on Livejournal - prompt #230: earth

It’s not his magic. He’s not sure which element is  _ his _ , because while he’s been learning, he never focused on a particular one. But he always veered more towards fire and air, and giving a wide berth to water magic, because after his experience with the ice tub and nearly dying… well, that was enough water to last him a lifetime. And despite Kira’s confidence with electricity, Stiles didn’t want any reminders of the Nogitsune either. 

But earth magic was always just… there. The mountain ash, the Nemeton, the plants and roots that Deaton was teaching him how to use, all of it was related to it, and the core of magic in general. At least that’s what all the books tell him — that there’s strength to be drawn from the ground, from the plants that grow on it, from the solidity of the earth even if it crumbles between his fingers. 

Stiles just never felt like he could connect to it. 

As he learns, now that the pack is growing more stable, he tries to find the link to his spark, but keeps failing. 

“Steady yourself,” Deaton keeps telling him, but Stiles feels like he’s flying apart instead. Like he’s missing an anchor, though he’s not a werewolf. 

And when he’s trying to channel his spark into something useful, he feels like he’s burning from inside out. It’s hard, a lot harder than he imagined it to be, and it takes way too much out of him. There are times when he wants to leave it all behind and forget that he was ever involved with the supernatural, and with magic. 

The breaking point comes when he’s already out of Beacon Hills, in Washington. 

He made contact with the local pack before he moved, on Deaton’s suggestion, because they weren’t sure how his spark would manifest if anything happened over there. Having the pack as a backup helps, and after a few weeks, he’s even called to help with a few issues they have, and when their Emissary needs an extra hand. After the time that he helps them fight a Wendigo, Stiles meets with the Emissary more often, and learns that not every Druid is as tight-lipped and cryptic as Deaton. 

Still, when he comes home for holidays, there’s a  _ dragon _ , and Stiles’ fire magic — though a lot more confident than before — does absolutely nothing to help. He has to call on earth and air magic neither of which are his strengths, and by the time they’re done, Stiles is  _ done _ . 

He goes back to college, informs the local pack that he doesn’t want to be involved unless they’re absolutely desperate for help, and he tries to forget all about his abilities and knowledge. 

It works for a while. 

Then one day, just as Stiles packs up the last of his textbooks after his spring semester exams are finished, there’s a knock on the door of his dorm room. 

When he opens it, he comes face to face with Derek Hale. 

“I need your help,” he says, and Stiles can feel the burning in his chest as his magic comes to life. 


	2. ground me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the [Full Moon Ficlet](http://fullmoon-ficlet.livejournal.com/500511.html) challenge on Livejournal - prompt #231: spark

“That’s peculiar,” Deaton says when Stiles explains what happened.

“Is that code for awesome?” Stiles asks, a thread of hope in his voice.

“It’s something I haven’t encountered before. I have no idea whether that’s a good or a bad thing, Stiles.”

That was what Stiles worried about, the unknown factors in what is happening. Because yes, he’s been aware for years that he carries a spark of magic, he’s been learning to use it. And yet he struggled with certain kinds of magic like the elements were fighting _against_ him.

Now though, he’s sitting on the ground, crumbs of earth dancing between his fingers, and he’s looking at the fresh grass that only grew moments ago, sprouted out of seemingly nothing in the middle of a completely parched clearing.

“So what do I do now?” Stiles asks, a little hint of hysteria replacing the hope from moments ago.

“Nothing different than what you’ve been doing before. Learn to harness it and use it. And I’d advise to keep whatever caused your magic to awaken close,” Deaton says, and Stiles can hear the amusement in his tone. “Maybe we were wrong about you being the _spark_ , in the end. Maybe it’s that you needed one. I’m sure Mr. Hale will not object to staying nearby.”

Stiles sighs and glances towards the edge of the clearing, where a black wolf is pretending to be sleeping in the shade of the surrounding trees. There’s a flash of bright blue that betrays his attempts at looking like he’s asleep, and Stiles’ lips twitch into a fond smile.

 _Overprotective wolf_ , he thinks with amusement.

“Okay. I’ll keep you posted,” he tells Deaton and then hangs up.

He looks down on his hands, and watches as the earth between his fingers turns liquid and spills through them onto the ground. A fresh daisy grows where it falls, and Stiles tugs it out. Then he gets up and walks over to the wolf, who’s still trying to breathe evenly and doesn’t move. At least not until Stiles tucks the daisy behind his ear and sits down next to the wolf’s paws.

“So, you’re stuck with me,” he says. “Until we figure this out.”

Derek huffs and opens one eye to look at Stiles before he pointedly shakes his head to get rid of the flower. Then he nudges his muzzle against Stiles’s thigh and lifts his head just enough to move it on top of Stiles’s leg.

“Yeah, I’m okay with that too,” Stiles whispers as he puts a hand on top of Derek’s head and starts scratching. “I’m very okay with that.”

Derek huffs, and Stiles takes it as agreement.


	3. forging bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles tries to put into words how little he understands why that happened and how his connection to Derek shouldn't have, by all accounts, been strong enough to cause _anything_ , let alone awaken his magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WiP Week - canon-verse WiP

It takes a while before he fully accepts that he has magic inherent to him, that he's not just a conduit for it, not just a spark. Stiles keeps learning, keeps looking for books and other resources to help him figure out what he might be, he even contacts the local pack again and asks their Emissary for help. Not that Silas, the Emissary, has any more answers than Deaton did, which Stiles finds disappointing now that he's used to getting more than the inevitable hums and confusing explanations. 

He doesn't tell them about Derek at first—his school and dorms are on the other side of the lines marking their territory and Derek stays clear of any other wolves in the area—but eventually, he has to. It's when Silas asks about what made Stiles change his mind after he cut all ties with the pack and turned his back on magic.

The pack's Alpha—Alix—and her husband Roy were friends with the Hales back in the day, it turns out. They immediately invite Derek to their house and talk to him about his family, about the hunters, about the past that Stiles didn't think Derek would've wanted to relive. It's different though—no one dwells on the bad during that conversation and Stiles learns a lot more about Derek's family than he has in the years they've known each other.

"So your magic manifested when Derek showed up at your door?" Silas asks, eyes narrowed with curiosity but Stiles doesn't miss the glint of amusement on his face. 

"It's not... I don't..." Stiles tries to put into words how little he understands why that happened and how his connection to Derek shouldn't have, by all accounts, been strong enough to cause  _anything_ , let alone awaken his magic. 

"Did you want it to?" Silas asks pointedly, his question clear even though it's not specific. 

Stiles glances across the yard to where Derek is standing and talking to Alix about his full shift—he can't hear them, but Derek shifted a few minutes earlier and Alix was understandably fascinated by his wolf form. 

"Once upon a time, yeah," Stiles admits. "A long time ago." 

"Are you sure?" 

It's Stiles's turn to narrow his eyes at Silas, but it's not so much with curiosity as it is with displeasure. Silas smiles and twitches his fingers, then everything around them goes silent.

"They can't hear," he tells Stiles. "They can't  _see_  us either," he adds when Stiles opens his mouth to mention lip-reading.

"Oh, so you're a mind-reader now too?" Stiles scoffs.

"No," Silas says, clearly amused. "It's just a comment that was inevitable. I figured there's a reason you don't want to talk about this where anyone else, especially Derek, can hear." 

"There's nothing to say," Stiles tells him stubbornly.

Because there isn't. He cares about Derek, never stopped even when they parted ways over and over again. There's been  _something_  before, a pull that Stiles explained away with teenage curiosity and the exploration of his own sexuality in the face of not only Derek but also others. 

Silas waits him out, head tilted as he watches Stiles's face parse through all the thoughts flooding his brain. 

"We were never  _anything_. Friends, at best. He'd say allies. Maybe. Reluctant allies, most of the time." 

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Silas says. 

Stiles knows the implication of those words, but when he glances at Derek again, he can’t help but wonder if Silas is just reflecting his own wishful thinking. Right now, that’s not really what matters anyway. Stiles has bigger things to deal with, at least that’s what he tells Silas. 

When the barrier that Silas put up dissolves, Stiles doesn’t miss Derek’s curious glance. He’d say it’s _easy_ to pretend he didn’t see it, but it’s just that he’s so used to faking being oblivious.

Something tells him that when it comes to Derek, it doesn’t work.

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr](http://froggydarren.tumblr.com/) || [my sterek fic tumblr](http://triggeringthehealing.tumblr.com/)


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